OPS-lasers can provide several Watts (W) of continuous wave (CW) radiation output while oscillating in a single longitudinal mode. An OPS-laser typically includes a laser-resonator terminated at one end thereof by a mirror structure of an OPS-chip, and at an opposite end thereof by an output-coupling mirror. The mirror structure of the OPS-chip is surmounted by a periodic multilayer semiconductor gain-structure, which is energized by pump-radiation focused to a pump-spot on the gain-structure. Pump-radiation is typically supplied by a diode-laser package. Single-mode operation of the laser is favored by the location of the gain-structure at one end of the resonator and by the periodic nature of the gain-structure. A detailed description of optical aspects of OPS lasers is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,742, the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. This patent describes, in detail, straight and folded resonators with fundamental and frequency doubled output.
OPS-lasers are typically packaged, self-contained, with the OPS laser resonator and the pump-radiation source in a single housing. A problem with this packaging is that factors such as thermally generated stress or mechanical stress may, at least temporarily, distort the housing. This distortion can lead to misalignment of the pump-radiation spot and the oscillating mode of the laser-resonator. This misalignment can lead to problems such as mode-hopping (from one possible single oscillating mode to another), and output noise. There is a need for an OPS-laser packaging arrangement in which misalignment of the pump-radiation spot and the oscillating mode under thermal or mechanical stress can be reduced if not altogether eliminated.